Couple told to leave Gosport house over drug deals and disorder

A COUPLE have been booted out of a house at the centre of a year of disorder and drug-related activity.

Portsmouth magistrates yesterday granted a three-month closure order for a property in Gorselands Way, Gosport.

The application was submitted by Gosport Borough Council last month, following scores of complaints from neighbours.

The court heard the house had been used for frequent drugs deals and drop-offs, bringing constant footfall and anti-social behaviour – including banging on windows and doors in the early hours of the morning.

Prosecuting, council representative Lucy Conroy told judges the property was raided by police on January 24, just days before a closure order was lodged.

During the search, she said officers discovered needles, packages of powder wrapped in film and evidence visitors had been bedding down in the bin shed.

It was the bench chairman, magistrate Lee Mandiwall, who told occupiers James Ebbs and Sienna Ramsey they would need to vacate the premises.

The pair, who were not represented yesterday, sent letters to the court admitting the activity at Gorselands Way.

Mr Mandiwall said: ‘We have heard from the council and we have read your reports and applaud your honesty.

‘We are going to go ahead with the closure – this will mean you need to move out.’

While no-one has been charged in relation to the activity at the property, Inspector Richard Thompson from Gosport’s neighbourhood policing team said the closure would be ‘positive news’ for neighbours.

He said: ‘This sends a clear message that drug-related anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated in Gosport and we will work with partner agencies to ensure that we use all of our available powers to combat this.

‘I’d like to thank the members of the community who contacted us and provided us with intelligence, the hard work of PC Mark Barber and his colleagues, and the borough council, who have all helped this application to the court to be successful.

‘We increased patrols in the area and undertook a community survey, which gave us a clear picture of the concerns that residents had about activity in recreational and communal outdoor areas and the surrounding streets.

He added: ‘This closure order will be positive news for those residents and their families.’

The decision was also praised by Cllr Graham Burgess, chairman of Gosport Borough Council’s community board.

He said: ‘We’re glad the court agreed with us that this action needed to be taken. We work closely with police on these cases to make sure that decent residents can get on with their lives without having to endure such behaviour.’